Dissenting voices need to be heard in America

Published: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 12:41 PM.

I do not claim to speak for the American people. I speak for myself alone. Congress, however, claims to speak for all Americans. Well in that cacophony, I have yet to hear my voice, or my views. Want to hear my State of the Union? It’s one word, fragile.

We slowed al-Qaida and killed Osama Bin Laden, hooray for us. What we are left with is an entire generation of American men and women who are physically and emotionally scarred, left with horrifying experiences that furthered no greater good. For every insurgent we kill in the War on Terror we turn their friends and families against us. We squandered trillions of dollars on the idea of a democratic Middle East, ignoring centuries of tradition and styles of governance that make our democratic system infantile by comparison.

Back home we are as divided as we have been since the Civil War. State politicians are using words like “secession” and “intolerable burden.” Pundits fill the airwaves with misdirection, half-truths, conspiracy theories, and outright lies, but so it continues.

I can’t speak for anyone else but here is the vision I have for my country. We stop all broad monitoring of American citizens, we audit the Federal Reserve with an international team, we begin to build a new power grid, preferably underground so falling tree limbs don’t endanger national security. We need to pool our top minds as we did during World War II, only instead of building a bomb they would be creating a blueprint for a sustainable future. Oil is a finite resource, it will run out eventually, and we need to have a replacement system running before that happens. We need a New Deal public works program to get the unemployed masses working to rebuild our infrastructure. We also need a complete rebalancing on public education. Healthcare becomes the other issue, this belief that certain people should or should not have access to lifesaving medical care based on their income is barbaric. Maybe I am just a lone voice in the wilderness but I do know this, no nation has ever been made worse by having a population that was healthier, better educated, and confident in their liberty.

There are solutions, and we can make them work, but our system must allow dissenting voices to be heard and then be willing to act in the best interest of the people they were elected to serve. The American people were better served when politicians were human and corporations were just businesses.

I do not claim to speak for the American people. I speak for myself alone. Congress, however, claims to speak for all Americans. Well in that cacophony, I have yet to hear my voice, or my views. Want to hear my State of the Union? It’s one word, fragile.

We slowed al-Qaida and killed Osama Bin Laden, hooray for us. What we are left with is an entire generation of American men and women who are physically and emotionally scarred, left with horrifying experiences that furthered no greater good. For every insurgent we kill in the War on Terror we turn their friends and families against us. We squandered trillions of dollars on the idea of a democratic Middle East, ignoring centuries of tradition and styles of governance that make our democratic system infantile by comparison.

Back home we are as divided as we have been since the Civil War. State politicians are using words like “secession” and “intolerable burden.” Pundits fill the airwaves with misdirection, half-truths, conspiracy theories, and outright lies, but so it continues.

I can’t speak for anyone else but here is the vision I have for my country. We stop all broad monitoring of American citizens, we audit the Federal Reserve with an international team, we begin to build a new power grid, preferably underground so falling tree limbs don’t endanger national security. We need to pool our top minds as we did during World War II, only instead of building a bomb they would be creating a blueprint for a sustainable future. Oil is a finite resource, it will run out eventually, and we need to have a replacement system running before that happens. We need a New Deal public works program to get the unemployed masses working to rebuild our infrastructure. We also need a complete rebalancing on public education. Healthcare becomes the other issue, this belief that certain people should or should not have access to lifesaving medical care based on their income is barbaric. Maybe I am just a lone voice in the wilderness but I do know this, no nation has ever been made worse by having a population that was healthier, better educated, and confident in their liberty.

There are solutions, and we can make them work, but our system must allow dissenting voices to be heard and then be willing to act in the best interest of the people they were elected to serve. The American people were better served when politicians were human and corporations were just businesses.